COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s basketball team (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) beat UNC Wilmington (0-2, 0-0 CAA), 70-42, Tuesday in Value City Arena. Two junior shooting guards, Ashley Allen (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and Caity Matter (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) combined for a 9-for-13 night from downtown. Matter, who was 5-for-9 from 3-point land, led all scorers with 20 points and Allen, who was 4-for-4 from downtown in her second game back since suffering a season-ending injury last January, scored 13 points in 16 minutes and grabbed three boards and two steals. Sophomore point guard Kim Wilburn (Southfield, Mich./Detroit Country Day) distributed a season-best eight assists vs. the Seahawks.

In the first half, Ohio State utilized a .522 shooting mark from the field, a .600 average from behind the 3-point line and a perfect stroke at the charity stripe to take a 34-21 lead. Brandie Hoskins (Fr.; Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) was a flawless 3-for-3 from the field, made the only free throw she attempted and grabbed two boards, one steal and dished out one assist in the first 20 minutes.

The Buckeyes jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead with 16:11 to go in the first, but the Seahawks responded with two buckets to pull the game to within four just one minutes later. Sophomore Michelle Mu±oz (Mason, Ohio/University of Tennessee), who ended the night with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and no turnovers, hit two free throws to spark a 9-2 scoring run and give OSU a 20-9 advantage with 10:50 left in the half. UNCW’s Shannon Presswood and Jennifer Kapper combined for five straight points, but Mu±oz responded with a layup at the 9:22 mark and Allen nailed two consecutive treys to take command of the game. A Matter 3-pointer with 1:32 left in the half gave the Buckeyes their largest first-half lead of 16 points (34-18), but UNCW’s Emily Roberts swished one from beyond the arc to bring the score to 34-21 at the midway mark.

Hot shooting by the Buckeyes continued in the second half as Ohio State went by as many as 32 points twice. Junior Beth Howe (Jackson, Ohio/Jackson) hit a jumper at 8:23 to make it 61-29. After a Presswood three-point play, sophomore Candace Dark (Kingman, Ind./Fountain Central) nailed a 3-pointer and sent her squad up 64-32 with 6:55 remaining.